State News

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 29, 2017 .......... Rideshare services, such as Lyft and Uber, will have to comply with statewide rules, and students and teachers will be allowed to express their religious beliefs at public schools, under new laws that will go into effect Saturday.

The changes --- including two bills from the special session --- are among 125 revisions to Florida statutes that hit the books on July 1.

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 28, 2017 .......... Florida Supreme Court justices appeared highly skeptical of a Central Florida state attorney's assertion that prosecutors have absolute discretion in death-penalty cases during arguments Wednesday in a legal dispute between the prosecutor and Gov. Rick Scott.

Two appropriation bills sponsored by Representative Ingoglia were vetoed by the Governor last week. A $425,000 appropriations request to help fund the construction of The Arc Nature Coast Life Skills Center on their Neff Lake Campus was vetoed along with The City of Brooksville’s $350,000 request to fund the Horselake Creek - Southeastern Branch Drainage Restoration Project.

Governor Scott also vetoed $4 million in funding for a wellness center for St. Leo University. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Daniel Burgess.

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 2, 2017......... Gov. Rick Scott on Friday used his veto pen to slash $410 million in legislative projects across the state, saying they failed to “provide a great return for Florida families.”

In signing the bulk of an $80 billion-plus budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, Scott told reporters the savings from vetoes will help cover a planned increase in public school funding, tourism marketing and economic-development efforts. Those issues will be a focus of a three-day special legislative session that will start Wednesday.